Astroblog

Obscured by Clouds. The rough and ready blog of a cloud benighted biologist and amateur astronomer. Astroblog will cover my interests in astronomy, biology and Life, the Universe and Everything.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

ISS Crosses Suns Disk Adelaide 26 November 2015

Path of the International Space Station as it crosses the Sun's disk as seen from Adelaide on November 26 at around 10:41 am.

The ISS will cross the Sun's disk as seen from a very narrow path as it crosses over Adelaide.

This is much more difficult than a Moon crossing, as this is telescope only, and you have to use special solar filters and use EXTEREME CAUTION not to damage your eyes.

Do NOT attempt this AT ALL unless you are a VERY experienced solar astrophotographer.

However, the path of the ISS is still evolving, and the centre line may
change further before Thursday. Use your exact location (or choose a
location close to the centre line as defined above) in either CalSky or Heavens Above
(both have drag and drop maps if you don't know your exact longitude,
but it may take a while to navigate the layers) to see if the pass
occurs where you are, or if you have to hike a bit to see it.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

The Sky This Week - Thursday November 26 to Thursday December 3

The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday December 3. Jupiter, Venus and
Mars form a line in the morning sky. C/2013 US10 Catalina is low in the morning sky, and a telescope only object.

The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday December 3.

Evening sky on Saturday November 28 looking east as seen from
Adelaide
at 21:00 ACST. The beautiful cluster the Pleiades, the Hyades and Orion . Similar views
will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click
to embiggen).

The evening sky is now devoid of bright planets until late December, when Mercury and Jupiter enter the evening sky.

But while the evening is devoid of bright planets, the summer constellations of Taurus (with the V shaped cluster the Hyades forming the head of Taurus the Bull and the beautiful Pleiades cluster nearby) Orion the Hunter and Canis Major with bright Sirius, the dog star, climbing above the eastern horizon.

Early morning sky on Saturday November 28 looking east as seen from
Adelaide
at 5:00 ACDST showing Jupiter, Mars, and Venus and comet C/2013 US10. Similar views
will
be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click
to embiggen).

Jupiterrises higher in the morning skies and is now easy to see in the pre-dawn dark.

Mars is higher in the morning skies and is visible in the early twilight.

Venus is easy to see in the morning twilight. It is a distinct "half Moon" shape and impressive in a small
telescope.

Jupiter, Mars, Venus and the bright stars Regulus
and Spica form a
line
in the sky this week. Comet C/2013 US10 joins the line-up. It is much fainter than anticipated and at magnitude 6.1, and being low to the horizon, it is probably a telescope
only object.

There are lots
of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. If you don't have a telescope, now
is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Tonights ISS pass (20 November)

The ISS passes the Moon as seen from Adelaide, 20:55 AEDST. Canon IXUS 400 ASA, 15 second exposure.
Click to embiggen

The ISS passes the Moon as seen from Adelaide, 20:56 AEDST. Canon IXUS 400 ASA, 15 second exposure.
Click to embiggen

Tonights pass of the International Space Station form Adelaide was not as spectacular as Saturdays Moon crossing pass from Brisbane, but it was bright and beautiful as I ducked out on our guests to watch the ISS zoom past the Moon.

Of course, I messed up AGAIN, and did not reset the exposure from 15 seconds to 5 seconds, but at least I got two trails of the ISS near the Moon (no lunar detail as the shorter exposure would have given me, unfortunately, still looked cool though.

Friday, November 20, 2015

The ISS Crosses the Moon in Brisbane (21 November 2015)

ISS as seen from the corner of Cloverbrook Place and Bethel St. Carina at 19:35:58 (click to embiggen) on Saturday 21 November.

ISS as seen from the corner of Cloverbrook Place and Bethel St. Carina at 19:35:59 (click to embiggen) on Saturday 21 November.

As noted previously, on the evening of Saturday 21 November, parts of Brisbane south of the river will see the International Space Station pass in front of the Moon (the rest of Brisbane will see it coming very close).

Path of the centre line of the ISS passing in front of the Moon, there is a narrow band around the centre line that will also see the ISS pass in front or the Moon (click to embiggen). (this link may update properly, or not)

The current path of the ISS puts it on a line running through Forest Lake, Dollandella, Acaia Ridge, Toohey Forest Conservation Park, Whites Hill Reserve, Carina Heights, Tingalpa, Wynnum and Elanora Park.

However, the path of the ISS is still evolving, and the centre line may change further before Saturday. Use your exact location (or choose a location close to the centre line as defined above) in either CalSky or Heavens Above (both have drag and drop maps if you don't know your exact longitude, but it may take a while to navigate the layers) to see if the pass occurs where you are, or if you have to hike a bit to see it.

Chart of the position of the ISS with respect to the Moon at one second intervals.

The ISS will be moving fast, and will cross the face of the Moon in under half a second.

You will need to be set up well before hand.

If you want to capture the pass, you should have a camera with a tripod and should use your cameras video feature (or rapid burst mode where a number of shots are taken in quick succession).

Heavens Above chart for the corner of Cloverbrook Place and Bethel St. Carina

Keep checking the timing on the evening of the pass, and be prepared for the published timing to be slightly out (that's why you should set up early and be prepared to video or take multi-shots in burst mode at times that bracket the nominal pass time). A watch or clock with sub second accuracy is a bonus.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Geomagnetic Warning (18-19 November)

The Australian Space Weather Service (SWS formerly the IPS) has now issued a
Geomagnetic Warning in southern Australia from 18-19 November from a CME
impact. The NOAA site has a predicted G1 storm for 18-19 Nov (UT, 19 Nov AEDST)
In the last geomagnetic storm activity was seen in the early morning and is
likley to be on the early morning of the 19th. In previous storms the best views
were from 11:30 pm - 12:30 am but there was activity the following day. There is
a strong possibility we will get unaided eye visible aurora in both Tasmania and
the Southern mainland based on previous events. Evening skies will have minimal
interference from the waxing Moon, cloud conditions are rubbish at the moment,
but may clear on the 19th.

Dark sky sites have the best chance of seeing
anything, and always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark
adapted.

As always look to the south for shifting red/green glows,beams have
been reported consistently over the last few aurora and a large green "blob" has
been seen, and in quite a few of the recent ones we have had white "proton
arcs".

Geomagnetic
conditions are expected to rise from quiet to minor storm levels on 18
November due to the expected effect of a high speed solar wind stream from a
coronal hole and possible glancing blow from the CMEs observed late on 15
and early on 16 November. This coronal hole effect may keep the conditions
enhanced to unsettled to minor storm levels on 19 November.

Leonid Meteor Shower (18-19 November, 2015)

Morning sky looking
north-east as
seen from Adelaide at 5:00 am local daylight saving
time on Wednesday November 18 and Thursday November 189 showing Jupiter, Mars and Venus
near Leo, with the Leonid Meteor shower radiant indicated with
a starburst. Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at
the equivalent local time. Click to
embiggen.

On the morning of Wednesday November 18 the Leonid Meteor shower peaked (from the point of view of Australians, that's 17 November UT), with the best time being between 3-4 am. However, there will be still some meteors on the morning of the 19th (18th UT)

This is a not a particularly good Leonid year. Very few
meteors will be visible (maybe one to two per hour). You can use the Meteor Flux Estimator to get a prediction for your location. Use the 13 Leonids option and don't forget to set the year to 2015.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Tonights ISS pass (17 November)

The International Space Station passes near Grus and Fomalhaut tonight (Tuesday 17 November, click to embiggen). It was very bright, but I set the camera for Iridium flares (one single long exposure rather than many short exposures), still, it was the harbinger of a nice series of passes over the coming week.

The Sky This Week - Thursday November 19 to Thursday November 26

The Full Moon is Thursday November 26. Saturn is lost in the twilight. Jupiter, Venus and
Mars form a line in the morning sky. A series of bright International Space Station passes brighten up the evening.

The Full Moon is Thursday November 26. The Moon is at Perigee, closest to the Earth, on the 24th.

Evening sky on Saturday November 21 looking east as seen from
Adelaide
at 21:00 ACST. The beautiful cluster the Pleiades, the Hyades and Orion . Similar views
will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click
to embiggen).

The evening sky is now devoid of bright planets until late December, when Mercury and Jupiter enter the evening sky.

Early morning sky on Saturday November 21 looking east as seen from
Adelaide
at 5:00 ACDST showing Jupiter, Mars, and Venus and comet C/2013 US10. Similar views
will
be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click
to embiggen).

Jupiterrises higher in the morning skies and is now easy to see in the pre-dawn dark.

Mars is higher in the morning skies and is visible in the early twilight.

Venus is easy to see in the morning twilight. It is a distinct "half Moon" shape and impressive in a small
telescope.

Jupiter, Mars, Venus and the bright stars Regulus
and Spica form a
line
in the sky this week. Comet C/2013 US10 joins the line-up later in the week, but is much fainter than anticipated and is probably a telescope only object low above the pre-dawn horizon.

The ISS passes near/over the Moon, as seen from Brisbane on the evening of Saturday 21 November
at 19:36 AEST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a
bright dot and the size of the Moon is exaggerated), click to embiggen.

There are a series of bright International Space Station passes in the early evening during the week. In some stes the Moon passes close to the Moon, and for Brisbane it may even pass over the Moon. More details and state specific instructions here.

There are lots
of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. If you don't have a telescope, now
is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.

Another Round of Bright International Space Station Passes (17 November - 21 November 2015)

The ISS pass near the Moon from Adelaide on the evening of Friday 20 November at 20:51 ACDST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a
bright dot and the size of the Moon is exaggerated), click to embiggen.

The ISS passes near/over the Moon, as seen from Brisbane on the evening of Saturday 21 November
at 19:36 AEST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a
bright dot and the size of the Moon is exaggerated), click to embiggen.

The ISS near the Moon as seen from Melbourne on the evening of Wednesday November 18
at 21:35 ACEST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a
bright dot and the size of the Moon is exaggerated), click to embiggen.

All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Friday 20 November from Adelaide, click to embiggen.

All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Saturday 21 November for Brisbane, click to embiggen.

All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Wednesday November 18 from Melbourne, click to embiggen .

Starting tonight (Tuesday) there are a series of bright evening passes
of the
International Space Station lasting a more or less a week depending on
where you are. For many places in Australia
this series has the ISS being very bright high in the sky, and coming close to the Moon at various times. Almost
everywhere in Australia will see a bright pass tonight anywhere between
7:30 and 10:00 local time.

Similarly, most of Australia sees the ISS pass not far from the Moon
at different days. In Brisbane and sites close to it the ISS may even
pass over the Moon. Example cities are below.

Time Direction Magnitude

Adelaide 20 Nov ACDST Maximum altitude

20:55:16

66°

315° (NW)

453

-3.1

Brisbane 21 Nov AEST Maximum altitude

19:35:45

72°

311° (NW)

433

-3.2

Melbourne 18 Nov AEDST Maximum altitude

21:35:51

57°

317° (NW)

493

-3.0

When and what you will see is VERY location dependent, so you need to use either Heavens Above or CalSky
to get site specific predictions for your location (I'm using
Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne as examples, and you can
see how different they are on different days ). Even the difference between the city
centre and the
suburbs can mean the difference between seeing the ISS go very close to
the Moon or over the face of it.

Start looking several minutes before the pass is going to start to get
yourself oriented and your eyes dark adapted. Be patient, on the night
there may be slight differences in the time of the ISS appearing due to
orbit changes not picked up by the predictions. The ISS will be moving
reasonably fast when it passes near the Moon, so be alert to catch the fleeting moment when the pair are close.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Aurora Watch and Geomagnetic alert (11-12 November)

What an extraordinary few weeks it has been, with aurora coming , if not thick
and fast, quite often, last nights unexpected aurora featured another proton arc
and "picket fences" . The Australian Space Weather Service (SWS formerly the
IPS) has now issued a Geomagnetic Alert in southern Australia from 11 November
for a coronal hole and an Aurora Watch for possible aurora on 12 November from a
CME impact. The NOAA site has a predicted G1 storm for 11 -12 Nov (UT, 12 Nov
AEDST) In the last geomagnetic storm activity was seen from 9:30-11:30 pm, in
previous storms the best views were from 11:30 pm - 12:30 am but there was
activity the following day. There is a strong possibility we will get unaided
eye visible aurora in both Tasmania and the Southern mainland based on previous
events.

Evening skies are clear of the Moon, cloud conditions are rubbish at
the moment, but may clear over SA and VIC, with a bit of clearing over Tas on
the 12th.

Dark sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and
always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.As always
look to the south for shifting red/green glows,beams have been reported
consistently over the last few aurora and a large green "blob" has been seen.

SUBJ: IPS
AURORA WATCHISSUED AT 2343 UT ON 10 Nov 2015 BY IPS RADIO AND SPACE
SERVICESFROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE

A glancing blow
from a coronal mass ejection is expected to impact theEarth around early
12-Nov UT. Combined with the expected onset ofeffects from an equatorial
coronal hole, this could result in visibleauroras during local nighttime
hours on 12-Nov. Aurora alerts willfollow should favourable space weather
activity eventuate.

SUBJ: SWS GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE WARNING 15/51
ISSUED AT 2336UT/09 NOVEMBER 2015 BY THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE.
A large northern hemisphere coronal hole is currently causing elevated solar
wind. Some active geomagnetic periods are likely over the next 3 days, with
storm conditions possible at high latitudes if IMF BZ turns south for an
extended period. INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED DUE TO CORONAL HOLE
HIGH SPEED WIND STREAM FROM 10-12 NOVEMBER
2015 _____________________________________________________________
GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY FORECAST 10 Nov: Active 11 Nov: Active 12
Nov: Unsettled to Active

The Sky This Week - Thursday November 12 to Thursday November 19

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday November 19. Saturn is in the head of
the
Scorpion and is close to the star nu Scorpii. The
Moon is close to Saturn on the 13th. In the morning Jupiter, Venus and Mars from a line in the morning sky. The Leonid meteor shower peaks on the morning of the 18th.

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday November 19.

Evening sky on Sunday October 25 looking west as seen from
Adelaide
at 20:45 ACST. Saturn is visible above the western
horizon in the
head of the Scorpion, close to the star nu Scorpii. Similar views
will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click
to embiggen).

Saturn
is visible at twilight in the head of
the constellation of
the Scorpion not far
from the bright red star Antares. The sight of the distinctive
back to front "question mark" constellation of the Scorpion above the
horizon, with bright
Saturn in its head, is very nice indeed. However, this is the last week to see Saturn before it disappears into the twilight glow.

Saturn is close to the double star nu Scorpii at the
start of the week. It moves away from nu Scorpii as the week progresses. Saturn is joined by the crescent Moon on the 13th, but the pair will be difficult to see in the twilight without a clear, level horizon. After this, Saturn is lost to view until December, when it appears in the morning sky.

Early morning sky on Sunday November 15 looking east as seen from
Adelaide
at 5:00 ACDST showing Jupiter, Mars, and Venus. Similar views
will
be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click
to embiggen).

Jupiterrises higher in the morning skies and is now easy to see in the dark of early twilight.

Mars is higher in the morning skies and is visible in the early twilight.

Venus is easy to see in the morning twilight. It is a distinct "half Moon" shape and impressive in a small
telescope.

Jupiter, Mars, Venus and the bright stars Regulus
form a
line
in the sky this week. Venus starts the week close to Mars.

Morning sky looking
north-east as
seen from Adelaide at 5:00 am local daylight saving
time on Wednesday November 18 showing Jupiter, Mars and Venus near Leo, with the Leonid Meteor shower radiant indicated with
a starburst. Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at
the equivalent local time. Click to
embiggen.

On the morning of Wednesday November 18 the Leonid Meteor shower peaks (from the point of view of Australians, that's 17 November UT), with the best time being between 3-4 am.

This is a not a particularly good Leonid year. Very few
meteors will be visible (maybe oneto two per hour). You can use the Meteor Flux Estimator to get a prediction for your location. Use the 13 Leonids option and don't forget to set the year to 2015.

There are lots
of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. If you don't have a telescope, now
is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.

Also
current geomagnetic warning
INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED
DUE
TO CORONAL HOLE HIGH SPEED WIND STREAM
FROM 10-12 NOVEMBER
2015
_____________________________________________________________

Sunday, November 08, 2015

My Hazy Morning Planetary Line-Up (8 November, 2015)

The line-up of Jupiter, crescent Moon, Mars, and Venus and Jupiter at 5:15 am (Venus is the
brightest object in the scene aside from the Moon). Canon IXUS 400 ASA, 2 second exposure.
Click to embiggen

The line-up of Jupiter, crescent Moon, Mars, and Venus and Jupiter at 5:17 am (Venus is the
brightest object in the scene aside from the Moon). Canon IXUS 400 ASA, 1 second exposure, 3 x Zoom.
Click to embiggen

Once again my luck held and the sky was mostly clear, there wasa bit of thin cloud about, so the scene was hazier than yesterday, but otherwise beautiful. In the images, if you look carefully, you can also see
sigma Leo near Jupiter and beta Virginis (Zavijava) between Venus and
Mars.

Seeing daytime Venus was a bust, the thin haze was enough to stop me seeing the Moon, let alone Venus.

Saturday, November 07, 2015

Aurora Happening Now (7 November, 10:00 AEDST)

UPDATED: 11:30 pm AEDST. Still ongoing in in some places in TAS, reports from Victoria as well.

Unaided eye aurora (and beams) have been reported as of a few minutes ago in
Tasmania (Ulverstone, Howden, Murdunna),and South Australia (Victor Harbour),
camera only at Stoodly and goats bluff Tas. Cloud has come in for some places
but still worth looking 562 km/sec Bz: -7.0 nT Density = 1.0 p/cc , Lanceston
Kindex currently 5. It is likely that there will be bursts of auroral activity
during the night as the solar wind intensity and Bz fluctuates.

Dark sky
sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and always allow around 5 minutes
for your eyes to become dark adapted.
As always look to the south for
shifting red/green glows, beams have been reported consistently over the last
few aurora and a large green "blob" has been seen.

Aurora Alert and Planet Dance (7-8 November)

The Australian Space Weather Service has now issued an Aurora Alert and an
Aurora Watch for possible aurora in Southern Australia for 7 November due to an
on going G1-G2 geomagnetic storm from the CME impact which arrived earlier than
predicted. Current Kp 6, Launcestion Kindex 5, Velocity: 562 km/sec
Bz: -7.0 nT
Density = 1.0 p/cc

While it is currently daylight, if the storm persists there is a good
chance of aurora from night fall. The NOAA site has a predicted G1-G2 storm for
7 November UT, so the storm may persist into Sunday morning. It is likely that
like previous storms there will be episodic bursts of high activity followed by
lulls. In the last two geomagnetic storms the best views were from 11:30 pm -
12:30 am the following day.

If the storm does not decay before night fall
(current predictions are it persist until at least 8 pm AEDST) , there is a
strong possibility we will get unaided eye visible aurora in both Tasmania and
the lower Southern mainland. It looks like the weather will be reasonably
clear of cloud for most of the South East for most the 7th. Evening skies are
clear of the Moon, and the crescent Moon lines up with the bright planets on the
morning of the 8th. For more details of the line-up seehttp://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/the-crescent-moon-joins-line-up-of.htmlDark
sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and always allow around 5
minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted
.As always look to the south for
shifting red/green glows,beams have been reported consistently over the last few
aurora and a large green "blob" has been seen. Again, the last few storms have
been episodic, so you way have to wait a bit for activity to come.

SUBJ:
IPS AURORA WATCHISSUED AT 0315 UT ON 07 Nov 2015 BY IPS RADIO AND SPACE
SERVICESFROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE

Minor to major
geomagnetic storm is highly likely within the next 3hours (Nov 07/0312 UT).
The IMF Bz is been southward for at least 2hours. There has been high solar
wind speed in excess of 700 km/sassociated with the CME that arrived at
Earth at 06/1825 UTC. Thecombination of these two solar conditions is
causing this stormactivity. Aurora sightings are highly likely during the
local night of7 Nov from Southern Australian regions, such as Tasmania
andVictoria.

My Morning Planetary Line-Up (7 November, 2015)

The line-up of Jupiter, crescent Moon, Mars, and Venus and Jupiter at 5:05 am (Venus is the
brightest object in the scene aside from the Moon). Canon IXUS 400 ASA, 2 second exposure.
Click to embiggen

The line-up of Jupiter, crescent Moon, Mars, and Venus and Jupiter at 5:06 am (Venus is the
brightest object in the scene aside from the Moon). Canon IXUS 400 ASA, 1 second exposure, 3 x Zoom.
Click to embiggen

After days of cloud the sky finally cleared and I had a wonderful view of the line-up. In the images, if you look carefully, you can also see sigma Leo near Jupiter and beta Virginis (Zavijava) between Venus and Mars.

Didn't see any Taurid meteors, but did see a very nice Iridium flare near Sirius. (image left 10 second exposure at 400 ASA, click to embiggen).

Hopefully the skies will be claer for tomorrow, when the Moon is close to Venus, and we can have a go at seeing Venus in the daylight.

So it is best to watch on the 7th, but be prepared for the actual
impacts to be on the 8th. In the last two geomagnetic storms the best views were
from 11:30 pm - 12:30 am the following day. While not as strong as the impact
from the previous coronal hole, there is a strong possibility we will get
unaided eye visible aurora in both Tasmania and the Southern mainland. Evening
skies are clear of the Moon, and the crescent Moon lines up with the bright
planets on the morning of the 7th and 8th. It looks like the weather will be
reasonably clear on at least the 7th. For more details of the line-up seehttp://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/the-crescent-moon-joins-line-up-of.htmlDark
sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and always allow around 5
minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.

As always look to the south for
shifting red/green glows,beams have been reported consistently over the last few
aurora and a large green "blob" has been seen.

SUBJ: IPS
AURORA WATCHISSUED AT 2322 UT ON 05 Nov 2015 BY IPS RADIO AND SPACE
SERVICESFROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE

The partial halo
coronal mass ejection associated with the 4 NovemberM3.7 flare has an
earth-directed component. It is likely to impactearth late on UT day Nov
06/2200 or thereabout. Asa result, minor to major geomagnetic storms could
occur on UT day 07Nov depending on IMF Bz conditions. Aurora sightings are
likely on theevenings of 7 Nov from Southern Australian regions, such as
Tasmaniaand Victoria.

The partial halo coronal mass ejection associated with the 4
November M3.7 flare has an earth-directed component. It is likely to
impact earth late on UT day Nov 06/2200 or thereabout. As a result, minor to
major geomagnetic storms could occur on UT day 07 Nov depending on IMF Bz
conditions. Aurora sightings are likely on the evenings of 7 Nov from
Southern Australian regions, such as Tasmania and Victoria.

Thursday, November 05, 2015

The line-up of Jupiter, crescent Moon, Mars and Venus as seen looking east from Adelaide on the morning of Saturday 7 November at 5:30 am ACDST. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at equivalent local times (click to embiggen)

The line-up of Jupiter, Mars, Venus and the crescent Moon, as seen looking from Adelaide on the morning of Sunday 8 November at 5:30 am ACDST. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at equivalent local times (click to embiggen)

This weekend the dazzling display the bright planets have been putting on in the morning really takes off when the crescent Moon joins the line-up of Regulus, Jupiter, Mars and Venus. Venus and beta Virginis (not seen at this scale) are also very close. While the simulated horizon shots are for 5:30 am, the line up should be readily visible from about an hour before sunrise (around 5:00 am ACDST and AEDST). By 5:30 it may be difficult to see Mars in the growing twilight.

Venus and the Moon will still be easily seen in the pre-dawn twilight,
and on the 8th it will even be possible to see Venus in the daylight
using the Moon to guide you (it should work on the 7th as well, but as the Moon is futher form Venus it might take a while to locate).

The Taurid meteor stream is also active, although a weak stream there will only be a few meters for hour, but you might see one streak across you field of view. The Taurid radiant is in the North West, near the V shaped Hyades cluster. The Taurids are relatively bright, so there is a chance we could see some nice fireballs. You can find out the predicted rates for your location using the NASA meteor flux estimator (use 2 Southern Taurids and make sure you set the dates to 6-7,7-8 November 2015).

It doesn't look like there will be any ISS passes in the morning, but there is a Iridium Flare in Adelaide at 5:31 am ACDST right next to Sirius. Sighting Iridium flares is When and what you will see is VERY location dependent, so you need to use either Heavens Above or CalSky
to get site specific predictions for your location.

On the morning of the 7th I'll be on ABC local radio (Adelaide 891 AM) with Ashley Walsh, going live around 6:15 am ACDST (6:45 AEDST, 5:45 AEST) talking about the line-up. So listen if you can (they doing streaming, so even if you are not in Adelaide you can catch this on your computer).

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Geomagnetic alert (4 November)

The Australian IPS has now issued a G1 storm alert, as has the NOAA site . There
is a prediction for G2 storms later this evening/early tomorrow morning.
Geomagnetic conditions will probably fluctuate as they did last night. Currently
Velocity: 686 km/sec Bz: -5.0 nT Density = 3.0 p/cc , Kindex currently 5 overall
and 6 for the Launceston magnetometer. It is likely that there will be bursts of
auroral activity during the night as the solar wind polarity
reverses.

Last night, when there were breaks in the cloud, impressive
aurora displays were seen in Tasmania and southern Victoria (Wilson's prom
showed excellent colour) between 11:30 pm and 12:30 am on the 4th, with smaller
displays before and after. Sadly, like last night, the weather over most of
Southern Australia is rubbish at the moment. Still, if there are breaks in the
cloud go out and have a look.

Dark sky sites have the best chance of
seeing anything, and always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark
adapted.

As always look to the south for shifting red/green glows, beams have
been reported consistently over the last few aurora (and were obvious, along
with a "picket fence" last night) and a large green "blob" has been seen.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

The Sky This Week - Thursday November 5 to Thursday November 12

The New Moon is Thursday November 12. Saturn is in the head of
the
Scorpion and comes very close to the star nu Scorpii. In the morning the planet dance
continues, the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and Mars from a line in the morning sky. The
Moon is close to Jupiter on the 7th and is close to Venus and Mars on the 8th.

The New Moon is Thursday November 12.The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 8th.

Evening sky on Sunday October 25 looking west as seen from
Adelaide
at 20:45 ACST. Saturn is visible above the western
horizon in the
head of the Scorpion, extremely close to the star nu Scorpii. Similar views
will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click
to embiggen).

Saturn is easily visible from twilight in the head of
the constellation of
the Scorpion not far
from the bright red star Antares. The sight of the distinctive
back to front "question mark" constellation of the Scorpion above the
horizon, with bright
Saturn in its head, is very nice indeed. Saturn is between to bright
star Graffias (Beta1 Scorpius) at and the double star nu Scorpii at the start of the week. It continues to move closer to nu Scorpii and will be closest on the 7th, when the two will seem to merge together, the will be close in medium power telescope eyepieces, but being so close to the horizon may make imaging difficult. .

The addition of Saturn to the head of the Scorpion changes it quite a bit, giving it a distinct "hammer head".

While Saturn is still visible from the end of twilight, it is rapidly heading towards the horizon. There is only
a narrow window
for observation from around 8:30 until around 9:00 pm as it gets too
close to the horizon. This is still a
good time to scan the tail of Scorpius and Sagittarius with binoculars to reveal the
clusters in and around the Scorpions tail, they will remain reasonably
visible until around 11 pm.

Early morning sky on Sunday November 8 looking east as seen from
Adelaide
at 5:00 ACDST showing Jupiter, Mars, Venus and the crescent Moon close together. Venus and Mars are at
their closest. Similar views
will
be seen elsewhere in Australia. (click
to embiggen).

Jupiterrises higher in the morning skies and may require
a flat unobstructed horizon to see it early in the week.

Mars
remains low the morning skies this week. While it is climbing into
darker skies it may still require a reasonably unobstructed horizon
to see
effectively.

Venus is easy to see in the morning twilight. It is a distinct "half Moon" shape and impressive in a small
telescope.

The crescent Moon Jupiter, Mars, Venus and the bright stars Regulus form a
line
in the sky this week. Venus starts the week close to Mars. Over the week Venus
draws away from Mars.The Moon approaches the trio of Jupiter Venus and Mars and is close to Jupiter on the 7th and Venus and Mars on the 8th.

There are lots
of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially
with Saturn in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now
is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.

Aurora Happening Now (3 November, 10:30 AEDST)

Aurora have been reported as of a few minutes ago in Tasmania (White Beach,
Stanley, Dunalley, Taroona) in gaps between the cloud. The Australian IPS has now issued a G1
storm alert. Geomagnetic conditions are fluctuating wildly, with the Bz
see-sawing between positive and negative. Velocity: 668 km/sec Bz: -1.0 nT
Density = 4.0 p/cc, Kindex currently 3. It is likely that there will be bursts of
auroral activity during the night as the solar wind polarity continues to
change.

Sadly, the weather over most of Southern Australia is rubbish at
the moment. (the lightning has one away here, but it is still
raining)

Dark sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and
always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.

As always
look to the south for shifting red/green glows, beams have been reported
consistently over the last few aurora and a large green "blob" has been seen.

Monday, November 02, 2015

Aurora Watch (2-3 November)

This is a follow up to yesterdays Geomagnetic warning. The Australian IPS has
now issued a Aurora Watch for possible aurora in southern, and possibly central
Australia from 2-3 November (from a coronal hole, not a CME as in the watch
notice) . The NOAA site still has a predicted G3 storm from a fast moving solar
wind stream from a coronal hole that produced G3 storms in early October 7-8.

The arrival of the solar wind stream will now be somewhere between the evening
of the 2nd and the morning of the 3rd Australian time. Given the bounty of
aurora from the last visitation of this hole, there is a strong possibility we
will get unaided eye visible aurora in both Tasmania and the Southern mainland.
Evening skies are clear of the Moon, and the waning Moon will interfere on the
2nd and 3rd, but not as much as the Full moon. Sadly, the weather over most of
Southern Australia is rubbish at the moment.

Dark sky sites have the best
chance of seeing anything, and always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to
become dark adapted.

As always look to the south for shifting red/green
glows, beams have been reported consistently over the last few aurora and a
large green "blob" has been seen.

SUBJ: IPS
AURORA WATCHISSUED AT 0644 UT ON 02 Nov 2015 BY IPS RADIO AND SPACE
SERVICESFROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE

A Coronal Mass
Ejection is expected to impact the Earth within thenext 24 - 48 hours,
possibly resulting in significant space weatheractivity and visible auroras
during local nighttime hours. Aurorasightings are likely on the evenings of
02-03 Nov from SouthernAustralian regions, possibly extending at times to
Central regions on03 Nov.

Sunday, November 01, 2015

Southern Skywatch November, 2015 edition is now out!

The lineup of Jupiter, crescent Moon, Mars and Venus as seen from Adelaide on the morning of 7 November at 5:30 am. (click to embiggen)

The November edition of Southern Skywatch is now up. This month features still more nice planetary action
. Unfortunately, most of it is in the early morning with Venus, Mars
and Jupiter
forming a line in the morning sky, Venus and
Mars close and the crescent Moon joining them.

Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky and has close encounters with the crescent Moon.

Mars is visible low in the early morning sky and has close encounters with Venus and the crescent Moon.

Aurora Alert! Geomagnetic Disturbance Warning (2-3 November)

The Australian IPS has issued a Geomagnetic Disturbance Warning for possible
major storms and the NOAA site has a predicted G3 storm from a fast moving solar
wind stream from a coronal hole that produced G3 storms in early October 7-8.
The arrival of the solar wind stream will be anywhere between the morning of the
2nd of the morning of the 3rd Australian time (it might even arrive early on the
evening of the 1st). Given the bounty of aurora from the last visitation of this
hole, there is a strong possibility we will get unaided eye visible aurora in
both Tasmania and the Southern mainland.

Evening skies are clear of the Moon,
and the waning Moon will interfere on the mornings of 2nd and 3rd, but not as much as the
Full moon.

Dark sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and
always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.

As always
look to the south for shifting red/green glows, beams have been reported
consistently over the last few aurora and a large green "blob" has been seen.

If you are up early on the morning of the 2nd and 3rd, you can see a
beautiful line-up of bright planets - Jupiter, Venus and Mars with Venus and
Mars are at their closest on the 3rd. After this the waning Moon joins the
line-up, on on Saturday 7 Nov an Sunday 8 Nov the crescent Moon is close to
Jupiter and Venus respectively, indeed on the 8th you can use the crescent Moon
to see Venus in the daylight. More details here. http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/the-planet-dance-continues-venus-and.htmlHere
is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds http://satview.bom.gov.au/Cloud cover
predictions can be found at SkippySky.

A Cloudy ISS pass near the Moon (1 November 2015)

Stack of 3 images of the ISS near the Moon, 3
x 5 second exposures at ASA 400, CANON IXUS stacked in ImageJ. Click to
embiggen.

Animation of the 3 exposures in ImageJ.Click to embiggen

Since the ISS was due to make a daratic close approach to the Moon, and I had to get up at 4:30 t see it, ofcourse there were clouds everywhere. I did see the ISS travelleing towards the Moon, but I didn't get the closest approach, the hole the the cloud I had been following the ISS through went away at the critical moment (just like the solar eclipse in Cairns). I also saw the exit of the ISS.

Cloud have got more images but I angled the camera on my recolection that the ISS's orbit was flatter than it really was.